From Ashes, Raiya
by foxehgamer
Summary: Stolen from a life of peace, Aiya must overcome the death of everyone she's ever known. Will she come to terms with the guilt of living or succumb to the madness of her hatred? Bad things happen to good people and this is how they deal with them.


The rain ran down her hair and evaporated off her cheeks under the sheer intensity of the surrounding inferno. If her knees shook, she couldn't tell. Shock had dulled her senses to a dream-like stupor. She wasn't scared or disturbed. Her heart and mind were void of feeling. She stood there numb.

Steam and smoke blew around in torrents Obscuring the visceral carnage of the once standing village. Explosions burst out of nearby houses, latent chemical stores turned bombs. Screams of agony reached helplessly out into the night. The echos of spirits leaving their hosts.

One foot assaulted the ground followed by another. Her body moved, a skeleton possessed. Eyes hostage to her surroundings, witness to the pain of her family and friends. A hand reached out while she walked, but it'd become unrecognizable.

A voice called her name, she tried to look for it, but it was too weak, too distant. Her mind began to spin. How could this happen? Why us? Who could stand to cause this much pain?

The roar of a feral, triumphant beast filled the air. Fires dulled and quivered in respect. A single emerald monster emerged over the treeline supported on it's two death soaked wings. It's eyes glared down upon its conquest. It challenged any remaining defiance. Victorious it disappeared into the distance.

A new feeling emerged within her heart. A small smoldering of something. The voice grabbed her attention again. The fog in her mind was clearing. Frantically she stumbled around, looking for the source.

"Aiya, over here!" The elderly woman lay on the ground, gaunt with dehydration. "Thank the Goddess of Life for her mercy! Hurry here dear."

"Grandmother! Hold on I'll help you up!" The girl cried with her burnt throat.

"No dear, just listen to me." The woman coughed. "My story is near its end. The fires around us are hot yet my bones become cold. The only help I can't take is by your ears. Tell me, have you seen the beast that's done this too us? It was large, fowl, and had golden hatred in its eyes, with the grimace of a reaper. Did you see it overhead, Aiya?"

"I did, Grandmother. I heard the laughter in it's murderous bellow."

"Dear, reach here and take my necklace. I don't have much more time left in me. Take this necklace and with it you take the legacy of this village. Aiya, I wish I could have given you the village you deserve. I give you the pain and suffering of your people. I give you the guilt of knowing they are still alive in this mess, and you are still too young and weak to help them. And, and with this necklace I give you this unholy fire that eats this village. Take this necklace and with it the sorrow and anger of one hundred generations of chieftains. We planted seeds of life, but all that's left are buried bones. Be our avenger, Aiya. Be the hands of your mother and father, be the spirit of your brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles. Deliver us from this injustice."

"Grandmother, don't leave me like this! It's not fair!"

"No, it's not, dear. I don't want this for you, but you will accept this upon your soul. I pronounce you Chieftain, and I give you your warrior name, Raiya, after the god of the hunt, Raiyo. Be strong dear." Her eyes closed and she was quiet.

Raiya took the necklace from her grandmother's neck and placed it on her own. The smoldering in her heart sparked and began to burn. Hot tears of anger streamed from her face mixing with the cool rain before falling to the scorched soil of her village. Peeling some wet leathers out of the nearby rain puddle, she wrapped the burns and blisters of her body and stumbled to the outside of the blaze.

For three days the village would burn till there was no more than black earth. However, the hatred in her heart would burn eternal.

Author's Note: If you like this, please review and follow. I'm often busy with overtime at work. If I manage to get a coherent chapter sketched up I'll release it on Monday nights. Be sure to stay tuned.


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